Driving
by Catherine Pugh
Summary: Mulder and Scully spend an awful lot of time in the car. What do they do during all those road trips? How do they entertain themselves? How has that driving time affected their friendship? One-shot. Special appearance by a new kind of takeout food! Some mild swearing.


SOMEWHERE IN THE WOODS, 1993

"Hey Scully, can you pull out the map and check when the next turnoff is supposed to be?"

Scully opened the glovebox and pulled out a raggedy roadmap. She neatly unfolded it and studied it for a second.

"According to this, the turnoff is coming right up, and then thirty more miles of straight-up forest. I'm not even sure if roads and trails are marked once we get in there. The map here only has the main highways. Oh, jesus, Mulder. It's not even Triple-A approved. Where the hell are we?"

Mulder saw the sign and turned onto a gravel road heading straight into deep, dark woods.

"Is it too late to leave breadcrumbs behind us to mark our way back, Gretel?" he asked, eyeing the deepening, rather scary woods.

"Mulder, I hate to tell you this, but…"

"…I sure hope there's a gas station near here?" he finished, in falsetto.

"Not as much as I do." Scully chuckled.

"I could use an iced tea, myself."

"Then you'll just need a gas station later."

"Not if there's 150 miles of surrounding forest, Scully."

"Sometimes I'm really jealous of external plumbing." She fished around her pocketbook for a tampon, and prayed she wouldn't have to deal with that in 150 miles of surrounding forest. "Anyway, I couldn't have believed you're not thirsty with all those sunflower seeds you eat. They're like mini salt licks."

Mulder handed her over a pile of seeds and gave her a lopsided smirk.

"Hungry?"

Scully grabbed them and popped them in her mouth. She was becoming quite the seeder, herself.

-o0o-

SOMEWHERE IN PENNSYLVANIA, 1994

Scully gripped the wheel and jammed her foot on the accelerator, after cajoling Mulder to let her drive for a spell. She thought he'd been driving long enough, Mulder hated it when Scully drove, and with good reason. The woman sped like a maniac.

"HEY, watch it, Leadfoot!" he yelled, as the car lurched forward as she hit the brakes. "You wouldn't have to do that if you didn't tailgate. Just relax and enjoy the ride, Scully. Like I'm trying to do, at the moment."

"Shut up, Mulder. I don't criticize the way YOU drive."

"That's because when I drive, you don't have to sit here worrying that your body's going to eventually be embedded in the back of a K-Mart truck."

Scully looked petulant, but knew that Mulder was right. She did drive like a bat out of hell, but then again, she was used to Beltway driving, not central Pennsylvania driving. She told Mulder to put in a mix tape from the armrest. He pulled out a box, looked it over, and chuckled. Something not many people knew about Scully: she was a fan of making weird mix tapes and decorating the boxes with little collages. She once made one for Mulder of goth songs with little bats all over the box. It was then Scully had told him an interesting story about her high school days when she had purple hair, Siouxsie Sioux makeup and a nose ring. Mulder couldn't believe he'd never noticed the faint scar from her old piercing before, but he loved the idea of Proper Scully once being a goth punk. Suddenly, he felt the urge to tease her.

"Oh hey, look, Scully. An Amish buggy."

"Is that a hint, Mulder?"

"Maybe. I mean, look, that ten year old kid seems to know what she's doing."

"Okay, okay. You didn't have to take driving lessons from my brother Bill. You think I'm bad, you should see him wield a minivan."

The music finally came on in the car. Mulder started laughing as he registered what it was. He looked at her incredulously.

"Scully? What the hell is this?"

"Da Mystery of Chessboxin," she replied with a sly smile, steadfastly keeping her eyes on the road.

"I mean, I know WHAT this is…I guess the question should be, you're into the Wu-Tang Clan?"

"Who isn't?"

"You really do keep me guessing," laughed Mulder.

"The game of chess is like a swordfight, Mulder."

And with that, she floored it. Mulder rolled his eyes and reached in his pocket for the Dramamine.

-o0o-

SOMEWHERE IN IOWA, LATER THAT YEAR

"Thank you, Ma'am," replied Mulder somberly to the highway cop, who held down her hat to keep it from blowing off her head. Scully stirred in the passenger seat after being in a deep sleep for the past two hours.

"Scully," whispered Mulder, shaking her gently. "Hey. Scully, wake up." He pulled a wayward hair strand out of her face.

"MuhhhHHHhh?" She woke up with a snort. The road was out, the rain pouring down, and leaves skirted the roads.

"We have to get a motel for the night. There's been a horrible accident."

"Huh? Where are we?"

"About sixty miles south of Des Moines. A tractor-trailer was rammed into from behind by a tailgater, and dumped fuel all over the road before blowing. There's a massive fire blazing up the road. You can see the glow. Officer said we can find a place to stay about a mile from here."

"Holy shit." Scully rested her head on the seat, remembering a conversation they'd only just had months ago. She sat quietly for a minute, processing this information.

"Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"You're driving from now on, okay?"

"Sure," replied Mulder, also remembering the conversation. "Let's go get some sleep."

-o0o-

SOMEWHERE IN VERMONT, SEPTEMBER 1996

"What's your favorite movie, Mulder?" asked Scully, munching down a bag of Sun Chips. Neither agent had any idea where on earth they were; they simply relied on highway signs at this point. They'd pulled over and decided the spring weather was too nice to ignore, so they put down a picnic lunch by the roadside.

"_The Shop Around The Corner_," replied Mulder, taking a swig of iced tea. Scully often packed healthy snack food for road trips, like kale chips and rice cakes. Today she'd brought along something rather normal: ham and swiss on rye, with chips, and a box of cookies. For that, Mulder was grateful. He didn't think his stomach would be filled with a few flavored kale flakes.

"Really? I would have guessed _Plan 9_ or something naughty." She nudged him in the ribs.

"Scully, you wretched fiend. I love old movies. Even the wholesome ones. Christ, you make me sound depraved."

"Hardly. I have brothers, I know all about it," she replied airily, popping another chip in her mouth and loudly crunching.

"Do you, now?" Mulder nearly choked on his sandwich, laughing. "Well, as a matter of fact, your secret admirer Frohike is the pervert who is always sending me those pornos, so naturally I just watch them. Anyway, maybe I'm learning something. You never know." A gleam of mischief crossed over his eyes. Scully blushed for a brief moment. Mulder decided the subject was getting too dangerous. "So, Scully…what's YOUR favorite movie?"

"You're going to laugh," she giggled.

"Don't tell me," he replied, looking her square in the eye. "Something involving Hugh Grant. A really sappy girly love story, perhaps. Something cheesy that you're embarrassed to admit, but not really. Something you can come home and eat ice cream and swoon to."

Scully fell to the ground and rolled around in hysterical laughter. Mulder took another bite of sandwich as she recovered from her giggle fit. She wiped tears from her eyes.

"Wow, Mulder, I thought you were an expert FBI profiler, but you are waaaay off."

Mulder chuckled, and thoughtfully brushed Scully's hair out of her face. She looked so gorgeous, lying splayed out on the ground like that. For a split second, their eyes met, her heart stopped, and she composed herself.

"As a matter of fact, Mulder, it's _The Exorcist_."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I hate Hugh Grant."

The spell was broken.

-o0o-

SOMEWHERE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, OCTOBER 1996

"Let's listen to something," said Scully. "I'm bored. The radio blows. I'm so sick of that song they keep playing." She mimicked the opening notes.

"I hate this song, too. Oh, that reminds me. I made you a little something."

"REALLY?" Scully exclaimed, louder than she meant to. _God, so obnoxious, she thought to herself._ "Whatever could it be, Mulder?"

"You're going to like it," he smiled, a little nervously. "Open the armrest."

Scully eagerly popped it open. There was a mix tape in there, sitting on the top. Mulder had made a little collage just like Scully's boxes. She was actually surprised at how well composed and intricate it was. It was lovely, with medical journal anatomy Xeroxes looking at each other, with an anatomical heart drawing floating above them.

"Mulder, this is amazing. Christ. I had no idea you had any artistic talent." She looked it over.

"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I, Scully? As a matter of fact, I was in the art honor society in high school. My parents would have killed me if I'd majored in art, so I just do things on the side sometimes."

"I will treasure it," she said, reddening. "I…this is so sweet."

"Geez, Scully. You haven't even heard what I put on it, yet."

Scully grinned at him. "I usually hate surprises, Mulder, but you make them fun."

She popped the tape in the deck and started laughing as a Beck song came on.

"_Everyone's out to get you, motherfucker_?" She threw her head back in delight. Mulder loved seeing Scully laughing, and he knew she'd find this hilarious, but his thinly-disguised love was starting to tear away fast. This was a bit of a risk. His heart began to beat faster as something popped out of his mouth that he didn't exactly want to say.

"Who says romance is dead, Scully?"

"I'm beginning to understand why you're perpetually single."

Mulder smiled to himself. Scully still had no idea. He was still safe. They stopped at a gas station and Mulder went out to fill up the tank and pick up a snack.

Scully looked over the tape in her hand when she had those few moments alone. If only Mulder knew how much this meant to her… a guy making her a mix tape. The kind of thing that would have made her swoon in college.

_Hmm. Some mixed messages there, Mulder_, she thought. Two muscle drawings with a heart between them? That WAS rather romantic. But despite the lovely collage, there wasn't a single romance tune on there, or anything that could be construed as a passive-aggressive declaration of love.

As she looked over Mulder's perfect lettering on the back, she chuckled. _What the hell, Mulder. His music tastes were all over the place. Gary Numan? Neil Diamond? Motorhead? Bruce Springsteen? The Xanadu soundtrack? _She smiled. It was, oddly, a very Mulder collection of music. _Shit, speak of the devil,_ she thought, putting the tape nonchalantly back into the arm rest. Mulder's inescapable eyes caught her through the window, staring at it. His heart flipped.

Mulder handed her an iced tea and a rather sorry-looking turkey sandwich wrapped in clingfilm.

"This was all they really had by way of 'food," he said drolly. "Sorry – I wasn't going to subject you to their salads."

"I'm fine with a turkey sandwich," Scully replied. "I think?"

"Let's roll, toots," he said, as Gary Numan's "Cars" started blaring on the car stereo. Scully smiled as the car drove off toward the horizon.

-o0o-

INDIANA, MARCH 1997

"I'm bored," said Scully, as she gazed out the window at the endless flat terrain. Cornfields. Lots of them.

"This is pretty bleak highway," agreed Mulder.

"How far are we from this destination?"

"About sixty more miles, I think. I don't know. You have the map."

Scully ignored him and fiddled with her purse, looking for a tablet and pen or something to do. She lamented not bringing along anything to read. She'd been in a rush to get to the airport that morning.

"When I was a kid, Samantha and I used to play games on road trips, like the License Plate Game or I Spy."

"Charlie and I used to do that, too. We also did impressions of people."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Charlie was really funny. He liked mimicking our teacher, Sister Gretchen. She had an awful lisp and an Irish accent, so no one could ever really understand her. And he did a really good Johnny Carson. You'd be happy that he also liked making fun of Bill."

Mulder responded in a rather convincing Humphrey Bogart voice, leering at her from the corner of his eye.

"What did YOU do, schweethaaaahht?"

"Give me a minute, Bogie, I have to think." Scully scrunched up her face and hands, and bulged out her eyes.

"I aaaam biiiig. It's the pictchaaaas…that got smaawwwll."

Mulder started laughing. Scully had done such a dead-on Norma Desmond that he had been taken aback for a minute. She always kept him guessing.

-o0o-

SOMEWHERE IN CALIFORNIA, 1997

"How are you holding up?"

"I just want to be home."

Mulder looked over at his partner, her face red and sniffling. They were heading back to Scully's brother's house to fetch their belongings before flying back to DC. Emily's funeral had been a heartbreaker for them both. Scully knew that even though Mulder hadn't been outwardly enthusiastic at first in her attempt to adopt Emily, he had done everything he could to help her. She held in her lap a lovely little black and white photo of her and Mulder holding Emily at the daycare, shot by one of the college kids working there for a school project. Tears blurred her vision as she looked at the photo, working it in her hands. The three of them looked like a real family. She realized, as Mulder stopped at a light, that she was crying as much for the loss of Emily, as the gnawing desire for that to be a real family picture.

Mulder's heart hung heavy, seeing Scully so devastated. When they arrived back at Bill's place, the rest of the family had not yet arrived. They sat in the car together waiting for them to return. The silence between them was stifling. Scully broke it first, her voice deep and cracked with grief.

"Mulder, I'm sorry I sent you away at the hospital. I really did want you with me. I just couldn't…"

"It's okay," he replied, taking her hand in his. She closed her fingers around his as they sat in silence. Scully looked out the window, shielding her face from Mulder's as the tears streamed. He could see her shoulders shaking under her coat. Her hand gripped tighter as the shaking crescendoed. She got out of the car and ran to Bill's porch, sobbing as if her heart would snap in half. Mulder got out a minute later and joined her on the stoop. He took her in his arms as she buried herself in his chest.

"Mulder…" She choked on the lump in her throat. "I couldn't face my family alone today. You're the only person who understands. I'm so glad you've been with me through all of this. That you're my friend."

"Scully…" He wrapped his arms around her tighter and kissed the top of her head. _If only you knew how much I love you. _"Come on. I'll help you get our stuff."

They went inside the house and grabbed their suitcases. Scully scrawled out a note to her family:

_I'm so sorry. I had to go home. I love you. –Dana"_

"Are you sure you want to go, Scully? We can wait. Won't your family be upset if you're gone?"

"Fire up the car. I want to get far away from here as soon as possible."

-o0o-

CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY, JUNE 1998

Soon after their undercover assignment in the creepy suburban community, the two agents were investigating a series of possible paranormal sightings in the old Chalfonte Hotel.

_Always an adventure_, thought Mulder.

They had just spent three hours listening to the ramblings of a couple of stoned goths rambling on about EVPs and crystals. The investigation was a dud this time. Mulder apologized profusely. He was rather angry that Skinner had sent them on yet another wild goose chase, but at least the Jersey Shore was pleasant this time of year. Scully didn't seem to be as put out as she usually was on these bullshit assignments, to his relief.

"Let's take a little drive first, Mulder. I've always wanted to check out the lighthouse down at the Point."

"I have a better idea. Make a day of it. Let's rent one of those rickshaw bikes. Get a picnic and ride down. It's about five miles from town."

"I'm in heels, Mulder."

"Well, I'm sure one of these goofy Boardwalk shops sell flip-flops. My treat."

"That's beside the…"

"C'mon, Scully! We're at the beach, it's summer, it's the prettiest little town in New Jersey. Live a little." Mulder took off his tie.

"Alright," she relented, "I guess I don't have anything else going on." It really was a lovely summer day. She took off her jacket and the hot summer sun kissed her skin. She secretly loved it. Mulder secretly loved the new view of his partner's shoulders.

After getting a picnic lunch at the grocery store in the middle of town (and finding some cheap flip-flops and tacky sunglasses), they stopped at a bike rental place and picked up a rickshaw. The guy, amused at how overdressed they were for the location, gave them the directions to the Point and told them to have fun. Mulder and Scully giggled as they pedaled the dual bike side-by-side down the highway. They were sitting very close together, and neither seemed to mind in the least. In fact, every care they had seemed to float away in the salty air. They passed a little antique shop, a horse farm, and an aviary. The sun wasn't terribly hot that day, and the sea breeze felt wonderful. Mulder looked over and saw his partner smiling serenely. These days, that enigmatic smile of hers was a rarity.

"Scully! Look, there's the lighthouse! Wow, you weren't kidding. That is cool."

Scully actually clapped in glee.

"I've always wanted to see this place. Dad told me stories about a thwarted WW2 attack here."

The agents parked the bike and spent the rest of the afternoon climbing the lighthouse and taking in the delightful view of the Cape, then wandering around on the beach together. Since this was a public beach with no swimming, it was much quieter and picturesque than the boardwalk. Scully was in heaven, being near the sea. It made her feel closer to her father here. Mulder loved the ocean, too, and was having fun just wandering barefoot along the beach with his friend. After an hour or so of mindless wandering, Mulder suddenly took hold of Scully's shoulders and looked meaningfully into her eyes. Her heart flipped at the closeness of her partner.

"Scully? Are you in the mood for crab cakes?"

"Always."

"I like the way you think, partner."

He put his arm around her shoulder and the two walked back to the rickshaw bike to head back into town for a nice dinner. Mulder listed his favorite seafood, crab cakes being first on the list, then maybe a nice plate of mussels. Suddenly he turned to Scully and smiled.

"I'm glad we made an afternoon of it here. I like this place a lot," he said.

Scully smiled and gunned her bike pedals.

"Ahhhh. Gonna have to keep up if we're going to get those crab cakes, Mulder."

-o0o-

OCTOBER 1998, POST-PADGETT ATTACK

Scully sat in the car, quiet as a mouse, while Mulder picked up some Indian takeaway from their favorite spot, just up the street from her apartment. She needed some time to process what had transpired an hour before. She looked down her shirt. Not a single scar. Not a single drop of blood. Minutes after Mulder had found her on his floor, they stared incredulously as everything disappeared in a matter of just thirty seconds.

Mulder returned with the order. Lamb vindaloo for him, chicken tikka masala for her. They decided to go to Scully's to eat, then to go up to her mother's. Margaret Scully invited Mulder to stay over, with promises of a large birthday cake as bait. Mulder couldn't resist, but he fleetingly wondered if he'd be able to handle Mrs. Scully's coconut cream cake after this meal. His stomach growled in response. Yes. No problem.

"How are you feeling, Scully?" asked Mulder, tentatively.

"Actually, much better," she breathed. "I'm ravenous. Must be the adrenaline finally subsiding."

A few minutes later they pulled into her parking spot.

"Mulder, you have no idea how much it means to me that you're here."

He turned off the ignition and smiled at her.

"You have no idea how much it means to me that YOU'RE here, and not a casualty of one of the worst novels I've ever read."

Finally, Scully cracked a smile.

"It was pretty bad, wasn't it? I can't believe he actually used the term _naked pretzel_. I thought you were just mocking him. But no, there it was, page 156. It was like reading awful fan fiction."

Mulder chuckled. Yes, everything was going to be alright. Scully was getting her sense of humor back. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Scully felt her skin get hot with the touch of his lips, but she smiled. That motherfucker Padgett was right. She was in love.

-o0o-

NEW YEARS DAY, 12:30 AM, 2000

"Excuse me? Sir?...Ma'am?"

A loud rapping at the fogged window forced the man in the car to reluctantly free himself from the rather attractive redhead. He opened the window, the cold air stinging him in the face.

"Hello, officer," said the man. The officer noticed he had on a sling. The people in the car both flashed their FBI badges and grinned sheepishly.

"Ahhh, is there something going on here?" asked the officer, chuckling at the two very embarrassed agents. "I just wanted to warn you that even though it's New Year's and you appear to be government people, you still can't be making out in a car in the middle of a hospital parking lot."

"Right, officer," said the redhead rather curtly, casually looking into the mirror for hickies and mentally reminding herself to wear a scarf to work the next day. "We won't do it again."

"Hell we won't, Scully. Just not in a car, like the officer said." He glanced at the officer, hoping he didn't piss him off. Luckily, the officer had a good sense of humor.

"Just go home, guys. Go home. Happy new year."

"Happy new year to you, too."

The window rolled up, and Mulder and Scully burst out laughing.

"Mulder, three hours ago we were shooting zombies. And now we just got busted for making out in a car. It's like the reverse plot of a teen slasher."

"My favorite part was the making out part. You know I've been wanting to kiss you for ages."

"Just because we almost got a ticket doesn't mean you have to stop, Mulder."

"It's New Years, Scully. Is this going to count for or against me in the future?"

"Definitely against you, if you don't get us out of here and we're thrown in the drunk tank for public necking."

"Happy new year, Scully."

"Happy new year, Mulder."

Mulder dropped Scully off at her house and kissed her one last time. They both knew at that point that New Year's kisses didn't count. But neither would forget this evening, and one day the kisses would count.


End file.
